Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has given Brazil’s Institutional Security Cabinet (GSI) five days to update him on the organization and composition of the team protecting former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving house arrest. The information was requested before Moraes considers whether retired Army captain Sérgio Rocha Cordeiro may again regularly enter Bolsonaro’s residence.¹

Accounts from both left- and right-leaning outlets describe the order in much the same way: it followed Cordeiro’s request to be added to the list of professionals permitted at the Brasília home, rather than an immediate ruling on that request. Moraes had previously rejected a September application by Bolsonaro’s defense to admit Cordeiro and another former security team member, Max Guilherme Machado de Moura; the defense appealed.²

Cordeiro’s position is that access can be managed under narrow safeguards. As an alternative to permanent authorization, he proposed a 90-day temporary arrangement with set days and hours, subject to renewal. He also said he would not use a mobile phone while working, discuss politics or relay communications for Bolsonaro.¹

The two reports differ little in emphasis. The left-leaning account notes Cordeiro’s request for an individualized explanation if the ban remains, while the right-leaning report stresses that Moraes has not yet decided whether to allow his return.¹ Both note that Cordeiro was investigated over alleged COVID-19 vaccination-card fraud, spent about four months in pretrial detention in 2023, and later saw federal prosecutors seek closure of the case for lack of minimum evidence identifying an author.²